Practically Profound: Putting Philosophy to Work in Everyday Life

by James Hall

Do you think that philosophy is an activity for old men in sandals with long white beards? Or people who sit under trees and wait to be struck on the head by apples? If so, then you owe it to yourself to explore the insights of this book. In conversational yet artful prose, James H. Hall reveals the many ways that you can actually enjoy and use philosophy in the course of your everyday experience. Doing philosophy involves critically examining key concepts, presuppositions and implications that are in play across the entire range of human inquiry. Practically Profound introduces the enterprise in three basic areas: knowledge and belief (epistemology), human nature (ontology) and the good life (ethics). Emphasizing experience-based arguments, the book demonstrates techniques that readers of all ages can use to enhance their own understanding of themselves and their world. This book is ideally suited to any introductory course in philosophy that takes a problems-based approach, as well as to general readers interested in putting philosophy to work in their everyday lives.

344 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2005

About the author

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James Hall is the James Thomas Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, at the University of Richmond, where he taught for 40 years until his retirement in 2005. He received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, his Masters of Theology from Southeastern Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

At the University of Richmond, Professor Hall was named Omicron Delta Kappa Faculty Member of the Year (2005), Student Government Association Faculty Member of the Year (2005), and he received the University Distinguished Educator Award (2001). He has written many articles and essays and is the author of three books: Knowledge, Belief and Transcendence; Logic Problems; and Practically Profound: Putting Philosophy to Work in Everyday Life. Professor Hall's first course with the Teaching Company was Philosophy of Religion."

Professor Hall specializes in 20th-century analytic philosophy, epistemology, logical empiricism, and the philosophy of religion. At Richmond, he was noted for developing cross-disciplinary courses combining physics, chemistry, economics, psychology, and literature with his own field of philosophy.

Reviews

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introductory book for philosophical inquiry dealing primarily with four areas of human thought, the nature of belief as a first step to knowledge, the nature of knowledge and an analysis of radical skepticism of knowledge via individual and cultural subjectivism, along with discussion of the viability of paradigms, a discussion of the nature of human beings from a number of perspectives, and finally, a discussion of moral and ethical inquiry. Jim Hall's writing style is humorous and personable, not once talking down to his readers. I'd recommend this book as both light reading from cover to cover, and as a highly engaging and informative textbook.